Referendum urged for far north separate state push – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)————He says breaking away from the south would boost Federal Government funding and give the region more access to mining royalties. “The way we’re going, if we don’t have our own state we’re going to end up with a big hole in the ground, we’ll have no minerals or nothing,” he said. “We’ll be cleaned out and our future generations won’t have any development here. We’d have our fair representation in the federal Senate – we haven’t got it. Tasmania’s got more power in the Senate than we have.”

Referendum urged for far north separate state push

A north Queensland lobby group is urging state and federal politicians to hold a referendum on whether the far north should become a separate state.

The North Queensland Self Government League says the ballot could be taken during the next federal election.

A spokesman, Laurie Fabrellas, says the state border could be divided by the 22nd parallel, with the boundary extending from near Sarina, south of Mackay, to south of Mount Isa, in the north-west.

He says breaking away from the south would boost Federal Government funding and give the region more access to mining royalties.

“The way we’re going, if we don’t have our own state we’re going to end up with a big hole in the ground, we’ll have no minerals or nothing,” he said.

“We’ll be cleaned out and our future generations won’t have any development here. We’d have our fair representation in the federal Senate – we haven’t got it. Tasmania’s got more power in the Senate than we have.”